The strengths of An Honest Man are its gripping, bleak tone and atmosphere, along with its tragic characters destined to rock each other's lives. The mystery itself was not as interesting to me. Maybe this is just because I usually don't read crime fiction, but it was difficult for me to remember each person's motives and assessing their threat to one another. I would have had a much harder time reading the book if not for Lyman and Jacqueline's segments and I appreciate the rewarding ending they were given. Would I recommend this book to other readers? Probably not... it isn't poorly written, quite the opposite, but I wanted it to just be over as soon as I started it.